Students hit the lottery

There was no housing crunch this year, as the annual room lottery took place on April 30 at the Fieldhouse. Senior housing started off the evening at 6:00 p.m. and ended at about 9:30 p.m. with next year's sophomores. Residential Life and a majority of students agreed that Wednesday's event went smoothly compared to last year when a power outage forced everyone to relocate. Senior Area Experience Director Scott Raskin said that this year Residential Life was better able to accommodate the number of rosters submitted by students. "Last year there were not enough beds," Raskin said. "This year we have the smallest waitlist in recent history." Residential Life said that changes in this year's process made lottery night more efficient. "It was a better decision to have it go senior, junior, sophomore. Sophomores take longer because everyone has a two person roster, and since it is their first time they need more of an explanation," said Raskin. Junior Kristen Sheridan agreed that lottery night was much more successful than in years past. "Last year was bad; sophomores went first and it screwed up all of housing," she said. Senior Experience Director Chris Johnson said that the new table distribution made signing up quick and easy. "One of the changes that made things smoother was the way the tables were set-up," he said. "For instance, when it was time to do the sophomore housing, Monadnock and Edgewood were both set-up up at two tables each: one for males and one for females." Junior Caitlin Cantin approved of the changes. "The signing up was so much easier," she said, "Everything was simpler." The first rosters called in Junior housing were predominately female. Sophomore Bianca LaPointe said that her roster had been called second two years in a row. "It is an honor to know that you have such a high standing," she said. While the majority of students were happy with their room assignment, junior Alisha Astephen said that she was angry with the results. "It wasn't as bad as last year, but seniors still got shafted. I still ended up in the towers. It's my senior year. I should be able to enjoy it," Astephen said. Raskin acknowledged that it was impossible to satisfy every student. He said that usually when students are dissatisfied it is because they did not get the exact place they wanted. Seniors prefer the Townhouses to Sawmills, but with only twenty-four rosters available, Raskin said they fill up fast. Freshman Caitlin Costa was pleased with her first lottery experience. "I thought the entire procedure was well carried out. Everything ran smoothly and rather quickly," she said. "It looked fair, although I could hear snickering and people commenting on the kids that went before them." Transfer sophomores Melissa Gramm and Victoria Woodward said that their first time was also a good experience. "The process was quick and painless," said Gramm. Prior to lottery, the future sophomore students who wanted co-ed housing submitted their housing rosters for Cheshire Hall. Freshmen co-ed applicants Rob Harpin and Devin Batchelder preferred the new process and were glad they did not have to attend lottery night. "It was more personal; we were able to go down as a small group to Residential Life," said Batchelder. "I have been told horror stories about how long lottery night is, so it was nice to be able to miss it." The opportunity for students wishing to change their room assignment exists. Raskin said that there is no guarantee that everyone will return in the fall, and as a result, "the process does not end now; it ends in September." For more information students can make an appointment with an Experience Director by calling Residential Life at 603-899-4176.